Book 6 of 2015- "In the Heart of the Sea" by Nathaniel Philbrick

I had seen this book on an article on Buzzfeed titled "Books you should read in 2015 before they become movies". It is the true story of the ship that was attacked by a sperm whale, which inspired Herman Melville's "Moby Dick". Plus, Chris Hemsworth is going to star in the movie. What could go wrong?

IT WAS SO BORING.

I thought it would have been written at least a little in the style of a novel. The first 50 pages or so (the first quarter of the book) were about the history of Nantucket. Which was like reading paint drying.

They already gave away the most harrowing part of the story in the foreword, so I was just trying to get to the part where the men were shipwrecked and started eating each other. That, horrifyingly enough, was the only interesting part of the book.

They referenced other incidences where severe starvation has led to desperate measures in this book, such as the Donner party. Brandon and I listened to a podcast about this one time driving through the Donner pass, and it made us both realize what a sad situation it was. These people were misled by a few people who deliberately left out crucial parts of the journey while describing it to the Donner party, and that led to their downfall. It was also the mistakes of the leaders of the ship Essex that led to so many people dying. Out of 20 people who survived the shipwreck, only 8 were accounted for at the end.

So, while it will make a good movie, since I'm assuming they will leave out the super boring parts at the beginning and end, it was painful to get through. But if you like historical books, by all means check it out!

Book 5 of 2015- "Inferno" by Dan Brown

I took a break from Maisie Dobbs. I promised Brandon I would read this as soon as possible since he did over Christmas break... then I kept letting the other books I had checked out get in the way. I'll go back to library books next, but I knew Dan Brown would be a quick read. I read it in about 3 days, which is quick considering it is 600+ pages. But it helped that I didn't do ANYTHING yesterday, with Brandon out of town. I had to schedule myself to go to the temple, because I wanted to but I was so hooked on the book.

These books always make me want to visit Italy. It is such a fascinating place, with so much history. This time, I want to go to Florence.
Dan Brown's books make me think of the "National Treasure" movies... without Nic Cage in them, that is. It makes me wonder if there ARE secret passageways through these famous buildings? And how the heck does Robert Langdon not get arrested through all these books?
The plot twist in this book is SO good. I actually kind of agree with the antagonist's point of view... kind of. But I don't agree with how he went about what he did. It's so hard to explain without giving everything away. But I highly recommend this!

Book 4 of 2015- "The Mapping of Love and Death" by Jacqueline Winspear

Yes, another one of these books. I love them, and I only have 3 more until the series ends! Darn it. I'm still hoping she writes more, but I have no idea what is going to happen by the end. Maybe it wraps up.

She didn't seem to spend much time with this case, she was more concerned with her personal life. Her mentor, who has been a main character throughout all the books, was dying of some illness and she spent a lot of time with him. Not to mention, she started dating again FINALLY. I get way too invested in people's personal lives in stories. I forget if I had mentioned this, but she was dating a doctor during World War 1, and they were both hit by shells during an air raid. He lost his mind, and spent the rest of his life in a hospital for men with shell shock. He just passed away in the last book (not the one I read last, the 6th book), and I think it was only then that she was able to start opening up to people again.

Still a great series, and I can't wait to go pick up the 8th book in just a minute. I have the 9th and 10th coming from another library as well.

Book 3 of 2015- "Messenger of Truth" by Jacqueline Winspear

This is the fourth book in the series, but the sixth one that I have read. As per usual, it was pretty fascinating. I had no idea who the murderer was (it was an investigation of a murdered artist), and kept guessing until the end.

At this point, I'm starting to wonder how someone can really read people that well. Everything that she does while interviewing a suspect or witness is deliberate. It is just interesting that she can do that, but I wonder if people in real life are actually that perceptive. I know I'm not.

Book 2 of 2015- "Pardonable Lies" by Jacqueline Winspear

I was about halfway through this book when I realized I read it either last summer or the summer before. But I read it again anyway because I didn't remember the big plot twists in the story.

This is the third book in the "Maisie Dobbs" series, and as I remember thinking the first time I read it, it's much more interesting than the first two. She has some brushes with danger, and ends up revisiting the site where she served as a nurse in World War 1. I always learn a little about history when I read these, and it's fascinating to think of a time like that.

I have 3 more books checked out, so I have 4 weeks to finish them.

Book 1 of 2015- "Among the Mad" by Jacqueline Winspear

So this was another Maisie Dobbs book. I realized when I checked this one out that I missed the 3rd and 4th book in the series, and the last one I read was #5. So, I ordered them from another library to come over to ours.

I liked this one because it had a different feel than the other books. You actually heard from the villain of the book before the big reveal, and even then there were many surprises.

In addition, this dealt with chemical warfare and the state of veterans after World War 1. It really made you think about how the government treats those that give it all for their country. Especially with a world war like that, they didn't have the resources to help take care of all the people who were affected by war. In addition, many of these people had to go to war just a few years from when this book was based (1931-1932). When you add that to the advances in technology seen in World War 1, it's no surprise that someone could have hypothetically threatened to attack the city if their voice wasn't heard.

It's a sad state that the villain is in, and just reminds me of how glad I am that I didn't live then. Brandon would have gone off to war!

"An Incomplete Revenge" by Jacqueline Winspear

I started this book about 3 weeks ago, but I was too antsy with the anatomy scan to sit through it. But I finally sat down and read the last 3/4 in about 2 days.

Maisie Dobbs is an interesting series of books. Besides the fact that the author finds it necessary to describe each of her outfits in great detail, to me she does NOT give away much until the very end. In fact, while we were reading today I was saying how I hoped it picked up soon because I knew stuff was about to go down and there were only about 80 pages left.

But I do enjoy this series! It is a series with a heroine, instead of a hero, and she isn't like many of the other heroines in books who talk about how they hate men and whatnot. She's just a girl who served in World War 1, and has been using her talents to create a business for herself.

Note: this book was somewhat difficult towards the end. I couldn't believe the secrets the characters had been keeping, and it was pretty awful. But ultimately, everyone felt they were satisfied with their revenge/forgiveness plan.